Gold holds ground amid Fed rate hike bets

Gold prices stabilized today, July 25, amid a stronger US dollar, with markets turning attention to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision due this week.

Gold futures for August delivery settled at $1,725.80 an ounce at 10:36 AM GMT, with spot prices reaching $1,726.74 an ounce, after closing last week with a 1.18% surge at $1,727.66.

Elsewhere, silver futures for September delivery fell 0.57% to $ 18.51 an ounce. Additionally, the spot price for palladium sank 2.39% to $183.32, while the spot price of platinum held ground at $872.46.

Meanwhile, the main dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies, rose slightly by 0.18% to 106.73 points.

Markets are anticipating the Fed to raise interest rates by 75 basis points for the second time during its meeting on July 27, after its European counterpart increased rates by 50 basis points last week, as central banks seek to combat inflation.

In his remarks to CNN yesterday, July 24, former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers backed the Federal’s continued control of inflation rates, which have proven stable at their highest levels in four decades, calling on Congress to ameliorate taxes to help control inflation.